Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY . Saturday, January 9, 1971 THE MICHiGAN DAiLY Saturday, January 9, 1971 music *\ x.. music Orpheus' heads off to the Underworld images ORGANIZATION NOTICES j Workshop on Legislative Action for Abortion Repeal/Reform 1971" Mon., Jan. 11, 1971, 7:30 p.m. - 1040 Natural Resources; sponsored by Zero Popula- tion Growth. CINEMA II "LA DOLCE VITA" Directed by Federico Fellini Starring 1961 By JOHN HARVITH As the house lights went down on last night's performance of Offenbach's Orpheus in the Un- derworld by the Canadian Opera Company, dreadful premonitions of w ha t was to come ran through my mind as I recalled the University Musical Society's disastrous opera presentations of 1969/70: Bizet's Carmen and Rossini's Barber of Seville, done by the Goldovsky and Canadian Opera Companies, respectively. Granting that Hill Auditorium is about as suitable for opera productions as Michigan Stadi- um (a situation which will hope- fully be rectified when Power Center is completed), the shab- by sets, misguided stage di- CORRECTION Every now and again an er- ror is made on this page which proves most embarrassing. Yes-, terday morning was one such error. The group Little Feat playing at Canterbury H o u s e do not have big feet nor is, their album named such. In- stead, their album is named af- ter themselves, Little Feat. The Baily regrets the boo boo. rection, mediocre singing, and exaggerated histrionics (appar- ently intended to substitute for acting) which characterized both the Carmen and Barber were an insult to even the most un- discerning opera buff. All of the foregoing simply serves to underscore the dearth of opera performances as total theater in the United States. By "total theater" I mean an amal- gamation of fine singers and orchestra, tightly knit ensemble work by the musical forces in- volved, effective sets and stage direction, and dramatically con- vincing acting by the vocalists. Perhaps only Sarah Caldwell's Company in Boston, the Santa Fe Company in New Mexico, and occasionally the New York City Opera ever succeed in. attaining this standard of dramma per musica. Certainly no troupe cur- rently touring North America has even aimed for a totally- encompassing dramatic exper- ience in opera. Even the work chosen by the Canadian Company - Offen- bach's Orpheus, a tuneful piece of inconsequential musical fluff -can be considered serious op- eratic fare only in an out-of-the- way place like Beaver Falls, Pa., not in a sophisticated musical metropolis, like Ann Arbor. Or- pheus is aFrench Nineteenth Century spoof on the weighty operatic versions of the poignant Greek legend by Monteverdi and Gluck. In Offenbach's operetta, the protagonists are Orpheus and Eurydice, a ;violinist and his wife who abhors fiddle music, especially when played by her spouse-a couple obviously in need of a marriage counselor, or better yet, a divorce lawyer. Eu- rydice jumps at the first avail- able chance to escape from her conceited musical bore of a mate with the god Pluto, who carries her off to Hades, while Orpheus, for his part overjoyed to be rid of his nagging wife, is cajoled by his meddling mother into halfheartedly rescuing Eu- rydice "in the interest of myth- ology". In the end, Jupiter sur- prises everyone by secreting Eurydice off to Olympus as Or- pheus rejoices in his assured single status. This established plot line was rather freely tempered with in an unsuccessfully "cute" up-to- date English translation. Trite '60's expressions like "that's a gas" hardly fit in with Offen- bach, and are not even funny. This cheap striving for slapstick effect extended to the tasteless costuming, shoddy sets, and fake accents affected by the principal character-s. Orpheus became a Leo Slezak Italian vio- lin teacher, complete with mus- tache and pot- belly. Eurydice was transformed into a plump, middle - aged, brassy, B r o n x housewife. Pluto adopted a pre- posterously seductive Ezio Pin- za, replete with malicious cackle and knowing winks to the aud- ience. Jupiter became a sort of lecherous Captain Kangaroo be- set by a restless mob of unruly kids. It is tragic that these sing- ers were type cast by an insipid translation and mundane un- imaginative stage direction into a group of inherently unbeliev- able puppets, each performer playing up to the audience to i * * * * Marcello Mastroianni and Monica Vito The decadence of modern Rome The Ageless Science of Yoga. Instruc-; tion in the yoga exercises as taught by qualified instructors. Sponsored by the Self-Realization Fellowship. Call Dale after 6 p.m. at 761-9825. Committee of Concerned Asian Schol- ars General meeting; Basement, Lane Hall. Monday, January 11, 4:00 p.m. Friday & Saturday Jan. 8, 9 7-9:05 P.M. Aud. A, Angell Hall Coming Next Week: UM Graduate Ouing/Club meet LI~~R SM A2 L4JRA "NOW -Daily-Tom Gottlieb t see who could get the most laughs. This is particularly true since, for the most part, the vocal work, both solo and en- semble, was exemplary. I would single out tenor Alan Crofoot (Bacchus) for finespun long phrases, superb breath control, and poise in his taxing solo aria, and soprano Lynda Booth- by (Cupid) for her clear, ele- gant vocalizing. As I sadly watched the curtain ring down on Orpheus, I re- gretted that such first-rate tal- ent had been wasted on a trivial work by lackluster direction. Here, I believed, was a company that with the proper set design- er and stage director could de- velop into a major touring organization devoted to con- vincing musical theater. The in- escapable conclusion is that the University Musical Society is coerced into bringing either sub- standard opera productions to Ann Arbor or no opera at all. Perhaps no future imported opera is the more viable alter- native, since I personally don't feel that importing (and thus encouraging) a badly managed touring company is improving the already atrophied condition of live opera in North America. For instance, support could in- stead go to local companies like the Gilbert & Sullivan Society or the School of Music, which presently provide more effective musical theater than that dis- played last night. With more re- hearsal time and meticulous musical preparation, total the- ater in opera may be well with- in the grasp of a homegrown Ann Arbor company. UM Graduate outing Club meets IA CES R T U AN , every Sunday rain or shine at 1:30 p.m. Meet at Huron side of Rackham where cars will leave for an afternoon of hik- ing. Dinner is optional after the hike. Bach Club meeting 8:00 p.m. Thurs- day, Jan. 14: South Quad - West lounge. Program: "Life and Death Mat- ters in Bach's Cantata 106" by Freder- ick Stroup with' live performance by Collegium Musicum. (Contralto, tenor, bass, 2 recorders, cello, and keyboard). Refreshments afterwards. Meet inter- esting people! No musical knowledge needed. Further info - call 764-7638 or 1H R D 971-7047. * * * * UM Folk Dance Club, every Fri. eve-AN C L ning, 7:30-11:00_ p.m. Barbour Gym. A Af~ r~ Teaching from 7:30-9:00 p.m. Open to all. * * * *FLUTE SOLO Beit-Midrash (College of Jewish Studies-Hillel) will hold registration on Jan. 12, 13, 14. from 7:30-10:00 p.m. at 1429 Hill St. Courses to be offered are Hebrew (all levels), Basic Judaism, Jewish History, Israeli Culture and more. The Office of Student Organizations would like to announce its new office (actually AndyKulberg does :p.m. from Mon-Thurs. remember the Blues Project) 4SOUNDS YOU'VE NEVER EARD BEFORE DIAL 8-6416 TODAY AT 1-3-5-7-9 ORSALINO'SCORES! SAT U R DAY JAN. 16 8:30 P.M. Playboy A8agazineSA U AY "ONE OF THE YEAR'SHDI TOR I UM BEST FILMSI -HILL AU with DAVID. BROMBER0! presented by "Gangland French style! lithleykilltalittle ltickets $2.50, $3.00, $3.50 on sale begin- -N.Y. TIMES ning Tuesday at Union Lobby, Discount Records and Students International Litter doesn't throw itself away; litter "the mellowest #pund around" doesn't just happen.. A. ZAPPA People cause it-an only people can prevent,' It "Peoplemeans you. 1* so <.. i k} 1 I UnI able! THE BEATLES ,; presents LITTLE FEAT ZAPPING THE ATHENS OF WHATCHACALLIT WITH COUNTRY ROCK AND TRUE TONIGHT $2.00 8 P.M. Doors Open 330 MAYNARD The alley was so strange I followed him there.-Alice The Michigan Daily, edited and man- ageG. by students at the University of Michigan. News phone: 764-0552. Second Class postage paid at Ann Arbor. Mich- agan, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor Michigan 48104. Published daily Tues- day through Sunday morning Univer- sity year. Subscription rates: $10 by carrier. $10 by mat Summer Session published Tuesdayj through Saturday morning. Subscrip- Ion rates: $5. by carrier, $5 by mail A 9d in inl 9 boy1oN ipT. EASTMANCOLOR RE-RELEASED THRU UNITED ARTISTS w M 1 i NOW AT POPULAR PRICES! .-*.r.r-- v.- T T + " s SATURDAY Yellow Sub-11:00 Help-2:30 Let It Be-2:00 Yellow Sub-3:30 Hard Day-5:00 Help-6 :30 Let It Be-8:00 Yellow Sub-9:30 Hard Day-1 1 :00 SUNDAY Let It Be-12:30, 6:30 Yellow Sub-2:00, 8:00 Hard Dy-3:30, 9:30 Help-5:00, 11:00 Keep America Beautiful. -I advertising conitributed ,for the public goad GALA Gilbert and Sullivan Society MASS MEETING SUNDAY, JANUARY 10 8 P.M.-Michigan Union We need singers, dancers, actors -- undergrads, grads, non-music students, music students, etc. 1 SUBSCRIBE TO THE MCHIGAN DAILY 1% i L 0 o FITH o tt Pirrol AVENUE AT LlERTY D11 OWNTOWN ANN ARBUOR I~I~lINFORMATION 761-070 SHOWS AT 1 :00-3:30-6:05-$;40 Subscribe To THE MICHIGAN DAILY Phone 764-0558 11 i . . "The Join The Daily CIRCULATION DEPT. Come in any afternoon 420 Maynard A we forgot to order our subscription to o afrtse am aW 44 Don't Make the Same Mistake Keep up with all the important news, whether it's from Pnom Penh, Lansing, Washington, or Angell Hall; Dis- cover the reasons behind the events; Be informed! Call our Circulation Dept. and Sorder Your subscription m7Y4A f1=rO -O 0' PmeTrbnN yFilm of the ear!" _RX REE " .,,csgo Tb,".I % Y 0e, N.mows ,yn~c*I -,OO'CONNOR kWon St 5a* ...-ERNARD DREW, Go. tew e.. , c* -- Sat., Sun., January 9-10 THE BLUE ANGEL dir. JOSEPH VON STERNBERG (1930) "1 GREAT FILM!" -JOHN SCHUBECK, WABC-TV "AN BSOLUI LZ SMITH, DELIGHT"Cosmopotta "ELOGUIENT AND IMPORTRNT!" E I I